Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines, and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are most likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting of the machines.
Consequently, shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines available because such machines attract frequent play and, hence, increase profitability to the operator. In the competitive gaming machine industry, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to produce new types of games, or enhancements to existing games, which will attract frequent play by enhancing the entertainment value and excitement associated with the game.
One concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, and is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
Another concept that has been employed is the use of a progressive jackpot. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. The percentage of the coin-in is determined prior to any result being achieved and is independent of any result. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot is a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play the gaming machine without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement.
In some basic games, bonus games, and progressive games, players are allowed to make selections that influence the progression of the game and/or the award that they receive when game play is over. This has the benefit of allowing a player to feel like they have some control over the outcome of the game, or at least the final award. After a player has made his or her selections, the awards associated with those selections are revealed to the player. In addition to revealing the awards that the player has won, a game may also reveal the awards associated with the selections that the player did not make. For example, in one prior game a player is allowed to select three out of a total of five selectable objects. After picking three of the objects, the awards associated with the three selected objects are revealed. Subsequent to revealing these awards, the game may also reveal the awards associated with the two objects that the player did not select. In these prior games, once the awards associated with the selected and non-selected objects are revealed, the player receives the awards for the selected objects and the game is over. At this point, the excitement level associated with playing the game is diminished, if not ended.
The present invention provides further enhancement of the gaming experience by increasing the anticipation of future winnings even after the a player has made his or her selections. The present invention provides for alteration of an award after the selected and non-selected objects have been revealed. Thus, a player's expectation that a gaming session is over and an award has been set is replaced with an enhanced anticipation of a larger award via alteration of the award after it has been revealed.